Black Swan Causes Jitters Among Beijing Investors

Statue quickly removed

A sculpture of a black swan was quickly removed after its unveiling at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), following speculation that it would bring “bad luck”.

Workers at the shopping center on Beijing’s financial street covered up the statue and whisked it away only hours after it first appeared on Monday.

A phrase commonly used in finance circles, a “black swan” is a highly unanticipated event with far reaching consequences – just the kind of thing the CSRC would like to avoid.

Netizens ridiculed the decision to remove the offending statue. One person wrote, “Such a grand country, and yet can’t tolerate a single bird,” while another said, “This dynasty had better offer a sacrifice to the gods.” Yet another person said, “Don’t the firm tenets of Marxism insist on following atheism?”

It’s not the first time art has been removed from Beijing’s financial district.

Last June, characters from the hit animated TV show The Boonie Bears were removed just a day after they appeared at a plaza immediately facing the CSRC (shown below). Though the reasons why the bears were exchanged for monkeys was not made clear, it was thought that the bears were making rude hand gestures towards the CSRC. Additionally, “bear” is a term for falling share prices and widespread selling.